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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27124471">The Plumber</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/19agbrown/pseuds/19agbrown'>19agbrown</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Ben 10 Series</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Character Death, Exposition, Harassment, Mild Language, Over-protectiveness, Time Travel, Violence, argument</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 18:46:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,176</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27124471</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/19agbrown/pseuds/19agbrown</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ben's daughter runs away to the Plumber academy, where a very familiar Plumber acts cruelly and unfairly towards her. After graduating, she goes home to find that her father had moved her things to her brother's place while she was gone. <br/>After her first field assignment goes horribly awry, she gets sent to the past, inadvertently setting everything into motion. </p>
<p>I suck at summaries, so maybe you should just read it. :)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Plumber</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Just a nice little One Shot for you, since there's not much new fandom content to devour in this fandom anymore. :)</p>
<p>Disclaimer: I don't really like Kai, and if I had written Ben 10, Ben would not have married her.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    <em>
      <span class="u">One Shot</span>
    </em>
  </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No.” Ben Tennyson said with a stern voice. “Dad—” Ren said in exasperation, then Ben cut her off. “Absolutely not.” Ren rolled her eyes. “I’m not a kid.” Ben pursed his lips. “Debatable.” Ren huffed and put her hands on her hips. “I’m WAY older than you were when you started heroing.”  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ben shook his head. “That’s different.” Ren glared at her father with her bright green eyes. “How?” Ben matched her glare. “Because I—” “Was a boy?” Ren snapped.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ben looked taken aback for a moment, then shook his head. “What? No. I—” But Ren cut him off again. “Then why, huh? Because you let Kenny start heroing when he was 10, and the same with Lenny. Yet, I’m 16, and you won’t even let me chase pick pockets in the park.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ben huffed. “Because I—You know what? No. I don’t have to explain myself to you. I’m the parent, and I said no.” Ren rolled her eyes. “So basically, you’re using ‘because I said so’ as a reason? That’s not gonna fly.” Ben puffed himself up. “Excuse me—” Ren cut him off again. “When you were my age, you were creating universes and stopping time wars. Yet, you won’t even let me catch a purse snatcher without you holding my hand.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ben grit his teeth. “Yes, I was. But I also destroyed universes and enabled the time war in the first place. 16 is not mature enough for—” Ren scoffed. “Now you’re telling me that based on your own stinted maturity at age 16, that 16 is not mature enough, yet you let my older brothers do it at <strong>10</strong>. <strong>10</strong>, Dad. You even gave Kenny his own freaking OMNITRIX!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ben glared at his daughter. “I don’t have to explain to you why I do anything. I am your father, and—” “And what? And I have to listen to you? No.” Ren snapped.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ben’s eye twitched. “Since your mother left, I’ve tried to give you some lee-way. I’ve tried to go easier on you than I did your brothers, because I knew you were closer to her than they were. I tried, Renny. But it looks like I did the wrong thing, as usual.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren opened her mouth to say something, but Ben cut her off. “No. Don’t say another word. Go to your room and stay there. We’ll talk more after the Academy shuttle leaves.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren clenched her jaw. “I don’t need your permission to get on that shuttle, Dad. 16 is the legal age where I can join without permission. I can’t advance to Magister until I’m 18, but I can join now.” Ben clenched his own jaw and stared at his daughter. “Your room. Now.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren’s eyes filled with tears, then she spun on her heel and ran to her bedroom. As soon as she was in, she slammed the door, and leaned against it. She slid down the door, pulled her knees up to her chest and cried.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It wasn’t long before she heard her father’s heavy footsteps stop outside her door. Ren tensed up, not wanting to talk to him. “Ren, I—” Ben started, then cut himself off with a sigh. “I’m just trying to protect you.” Ben whispered so softly that Ren could not make out the words. Ben then turned around and walked away. As soon as Ren heard the clomp of Ben’s combat boots on the kitchen tiles and heard the squeak of the liquor cabinet opening, she stood up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren looked around her room, an idea forming when she spotted her open window. Ren wiped at her eyes, gathered her things, and grabbed her hoverboard. Ren then scribbled out a quick note to her father and set the folded piece of paper on her pillow.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren turned and faced her bedroom, taking a deep breath. She couldn’t believe she was actually about to do this. She was about to disregard her father’s wishes and run away to the Plumber Academy. And worse, she was leaving him only a note, just like her mother had.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren swallowed down the guilt that was bubbling in the back of her throat, and strode over to her window, opening the ‘everything proof’ pane just a little wider. Ren stepped up on the windowsill; duffel bag over her shoulder, backpack on her back, wallet heavy in her pocket, and hoverboard in her hand.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren looked from her window on the highest residential floor of Plumber HQ, and let her eyes wander across the landing pads suspended in mid-air about 5 floors down. Spotting the pad where the Plumber Academy Shuttle sat, already boarding passengers, Ren gripped her hoverboard tighter, and jumped.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren let herself freefall for barely a second, before she whipped her hoverboard around in a semi-circle and planted her feet on the sensitive membranes on the board’s surface. With practiced ease, Ren glided down to the landing pad, and landed next to a fur-covered alien holding a clipboard.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The alien took in her wind-swept brown hair and sharp green eyes with a resigned expression, then cleared his throat. “Name?” He asked, keeping his amber-colored eyes locked on her face. Ren’s eyes saw how the alien gripped his virtual clipboard a little too tightly, but she dismissed it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren raised her chin, and said in a clear defiant voice, “Renae Gwendolyn Tennyson.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The alien’s left eye twitched at her last name, then he looked down at his clipboard and typed in her name. “Age?” He asked in a forced-even voice. Ren didn’t hesitate. “16.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She saw the alien gulp, before he typed her answer into his clipboard. He then turned the clipboard to her. “Please fill in the remaining boxes, and then sign your name on the dotted line.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren nodded, then selected the correct answer for the boxes asking for gender, species, planet of origin, and date of birth. She paused where it asked for emergency contact information. Should she put her father? No. That would be a terrible idea. The desk jockeys who filed this stuff would recognize Ben 10,000’s name right away, and then she’d never get a moments peace.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But who should she put if not her father? Great Grandpa Max? No. He was over a hundred years old. If they called saying something had happened to her, he would likely have a heart attack on the spot.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Auntie Gwendolyn? No. The Plumber database would go haywire if she tried putting the High Magus as her emergency contact.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Devlin? No. In recent years, her cousin had grown to treat her like she was something fragile. Much like the rest of their family. Plus, even in adulthood, he was super close to the resident family time traveler, Kenny. If they called him to say that something happened to her, he was likely to force Kenny to go Spanner and prevent it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Uncle Kevin? No. He would probably get all squirrely if he found out she’d listed him without his permission. Plus, if they tried telling him something had happened to her, he’d scream in their ear and then conduct his own investigation into what exactly had happened to his precious goddaughter.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>No… the only real option was one of her brothers. It couldn’t be Lenny. He’d made himself very clear when he moved to Hollywood that he wanted nothing to do with the Tennyson family business anymore. Ren guessed that Lenny’s distancing probably didn’t extend to something like this, but better safe than sorry.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So, Kenny. Kenny was more level-headed than their dad and Lenny, so he would probably not freak out as much about her going in the first place. He was also Ren’s favorite family member, and the only one Ren really got along with since everyone else had decided she was a porcelain doll instead of a human.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren hurriedly scribbled in Kenny’s contact information, then signed her name on the dotted line. The fur-covered alien eyed her information, then nodded to himself, as if steeling himself for something. “Welcome to the Plumbers, Ms. Tennyson. Please have a seat in the main cabin.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren nodded at the alien, and nearly ran onto the shuttle. When Ren entered the main cabin of the shuttle, she felt all eyes on her instantly. Well aware of how much she looked like her father, Ren ignored the stares, and sat down in a red plastic seat next to a girl that looked a lot like a slightly smaller version of Four Arms. A Tetramand. Great. The Tetramands still idolized her father for saving Khoros from a rogue AI back in his teens. This ought to be fun.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Edeena Armstrong. Daughter of Princess Looma Redwind and Magister Manny Armstrong.” The Tetramand said, holding out one of her 4 hands. Ren sent Edeena a small smile, shaking a hand that dwarfed her own. “Renae Tennyson. Daughter of K—” Ren cleared her throat. She had been about to say her mother’s name. 10 years later, and Ren still had a hard time letting her Mom go. Ren fell silent, staring at the ground.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Edeena looked at her sadly. Probably guessing that she was an orphan, like many other Plumber recruits. That wasn’t the case, but Ren wasn’t much in the mood for correcting Edeena’s probable assumption.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>&amp;*</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren looked up from the data pad where she and Edeena had been playing a game when she felt the Shuttle lock onto the space station where the Plumber Academy was located. Ren smiled at her new friend and slipped her data pad back into her backpack.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The door to the cockpit slid open with an audible hiss, and the fur-covered alien who had taken down Ren’s name stepped through. Gone was the blue and black proto-tech-armor he’d worn when taking down Ren’s name.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Now, the alien wore standard issue white, black, and silver Plumber armor with metals pinned to the right side of the chest plate, many of them looking identical to metals that hung in the trophy case in Ren’s living room back on Earth. Attached to the middle of the chest plate was a red circle outlined in gold, identifying this alien as a Magister ranked Plumber.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Cadets.” The Magister said in a carrying voice. “I am Magister Rook Blonko. You may called me Magister Rook or just Magister. I am your assigned Magister for the duration of your education with the Plumbers, and it will be my job to see to it that you are all to bed, classes, and meals on time, as well as to teach your combat training courses.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Every cadet in the main cabin was looking at Magister Rook with awe in their expressions. The Plumber was legendary for his role in stopping the Incurseans when they invaded the Andromeda Galaxy 5 years ago, as well as for single-handedly stopping the Atrocian riots on Arganhold. Not that stopping Atrocian riots is particularly difficult, since even Ben Tennyson named his Atrocian form ‘The Worst’, but since the Arganhold riots had included about 5,000 Atrocians, it was still impressive that one lone Plumber had managed to stop them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Of course, if these cadets had known that Magister Rook had also used to partner with Ben Tennyson, they might just explode with excitement, but alas, not even Ren knew that. Nor did she know that her name starting with an ‘R’ was a subtle nod to him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Magister Rook’s amber eyes seemed to scrutinize each cadet individually, before continuing. “Now, there will be no hand-holding or babysitting involved. If you are here, that means that you intend to one day be a Plumber, and I assure you, no one will babysit you then.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>No one doubted his words. Magister Rook looked around the cabin. “As Plumbers, it will be your responsibility to protect and serve the citizens of the universe. In order to do so, you will need to learn to follow procedures and orders to the letter.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A hand raised, much to the shock of the other cadets and Magister Rook. “What about Ben Tennyson?” A little green alien asked with a reverent voice. Ren rolled her eyes. In a lecture about following rules, she should have expected her father to be brought up in some way, since he was notorious for not following the rules.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Magister Rook quickly overcame his shock and answered with his same blank expression. “Well, Kryte, even Ben Tennyson follows the orders of his superiors and the regulations, though he does tend to bend them when the occasion requires it.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Magister Rook’s amber eyes seemed to bore into Ren. “Not even Ben Tennyson is exempt from such things.” Ren felt a little irritated by Magister Rook’s behavior. Not even off the shuttle yet, and he already seemed to be basing his opinion of her off of her father. It was unfair.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When no one else spoke up to interrupt him, Magister Rook continued. “Today you will be allowed to rest and to acquaint yourselves with your new location and with your peers. But tomorrow, your training will begin.” With that, Magister Rook made a hand gesture, and the airlock door opened, showing the silver walls and floor of the Plumber Academy on the other side. “Dismissed.” Magister Rook said, releasing them from the shuttle.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren gathered her bags, making sure that her hoverboard was safely stored away in her backpack. Then, she and Edeena walked side by side from the shuttle. When they stepped out, a fellow cadet was waiting for them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The cadet smirked at Ren, and his glittering blue eyes swept up and down Ren’s thin frame. “The Magister told us to get acquainted with our peers.” The human-looking boy bit his bottom lip as his eyes traveled up and down Ren’s body again. “I have to say, I certainly have no complaints about that.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The boy then held out a hand. “Darren Morningstar.” Ren raised an eyebrow but did not reach out for the blonde’s hand. “Charmed, I’m sure.” The corner of the boy’s smiling mouth ticked down in irritation when Ren made no move to take his offered hand.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Don’t be rude now, sweetheart. When someone holds out a hand, it’s polite to take it.” Darren said in thinly veiled annoyance. Ren gave Darren an unimpressed look, and then her and Edeena tried to walk past him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Darren reached out and grabbed Ren’s arm on her way by. “Do not ignore me.” Ren wrenched her arm out of the rude boy’s hold and kept walking. It was then that she felt his hand slap against her butt.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Without hesitation, Ren spun around and socked Darren in the jaw. The boy fell back against the wall with a dazed expression, and Edeena growled low in the back of her throat, then began slowly creeping towards the boy who had dared touch her new friend in such a way.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Then a voice cracked through the air like a whip. “Tennyson! No fighting outside of combat training!” Ren’s head snapped up to where Magister Rook was just stepping off of the shuttle. “But he—” Ren did not get a chance to explain further before the Magister cut across her attempted explanation. “I did not ask for backtalk! You will learn to follow orders without questioning them if you want to make it here. This is not Earth, Tennyson, and I am not your father. I will not bend the rules for you. Get to your quarters.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren clenched her jaw, but hefted her duffel bag onto her shoulder, and walked through the door where her name was listed. The shuttle had parked at the airlock in their assigned hallway, so she did not have far to go.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren walked in and went down to the furthest bed, and tossed her duffel bag on the top bunk, before Edeena tossed her large suitcase-like bag onto the bottom bunk. “It was unfair of him not to hear you out like that.” Edeena said, indignation clear in her voice.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren didn’t say anything to that as she shed her backpack and tossed it up next to her duffel. Edeena frowned. “He sounded like he didn’t like you. Have you ever met him before?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren pondered this for a moment, before shaking her head. “No, never. I would have remembered someone with that attitude.” Edeena snorted, then flopped onto her bunk, slightly bending the bed frame with the force of it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>&amp;*</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Tennyson!” Ren paused in her combat training when she heard Magister Rook bark at her. “That is not one of the instructed techniques!” Ren pursed her lips. So what if it was not an instructed technique? When she was a real Plumber, instructed techniques wouldn’t matter. She didn’t say any of this out loud though, she just switched her stance and moved in a sequence that they had been taught the previous week.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Tennyson!” What now? “That technique was created for battling smaller lifeforms, you are battling a Tetramand! Pick a stance that will not get you killed!” Ren grit her teeth. This entire session, Magister Rook had criticized no one but her, as usual.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Instead of ignoring or questioning the command like her father would have, Ren switched to a different technique. One that she was sure would be good enough for Magister Rook to move on to someone else. But it was not to be.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Tennyson! That is not a safe technique to be using in a sparring match! You might injure your partner!” What!? It was the exact same stance that Edeena was using on her! If it was such a dangerous technique to use, then why was the alien nearly 4 times her size not being told to switch!?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren clenched her jaw and looked at Edeena. Her friend looked just as irritated as she felt, and Ren watched as Edeena made several deliberately clumsy moves to try and get some of Magister Rook’s lashing off of her, but it did the opposite. “Tennyson! Your partner just made an error in her stance that would have made her easy to subdue, why did you not take her down?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren tried to take several calming breaths. The Magister was obviously trying to bait her for some reason. She could not rise to it, or her unit would get more discipline stacked on top of what they already had from yesterday when she put Darren Morningstar in a choke hold when he tried to kiss her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> As with every other altercation with the handsy blonde over the past 6 months, Magister Rook had only yelled at Ren. It was getting to the point where Ren was actively ducking around corners to avoid even being in the same hallway as the Magister if she could manage it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren grunted with effort as she made a move to pin Edeena, but the alien’s superior strength made it impossible for Ren to accomplish without Edeena letting her. Which is exactly what just happened. Ren felt the exact moment when Edeena started slowly reducing her resistance to a level that Ren could manage. They both wanted the sparring match to end so that Magister Rook would stop yelling at Ren.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In moments, Ren had 2 of Edeena’s hands pinned, but they still had to look like Edeena wasn’t simply letting Ren win, so Ren contorted her body in a pretzel-like way to use her arms and legs to bring both of Edeena’s left arms together in the elbow hold of her right arm, and then doing the same on Edeena’s right side. Ren then wrapped her legs around Edeena’s thighs to pin the strong Tetramand legs.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When she looked up at Magister Rook, he was scowling. “If you had been in the field fighting a Tetramand that was NOT taking it easy on you, you would have just died. Your arms are not strong enough to hold hers unless she lets you, and all she’d have to do to rip your legs out of their sockets is to move her legs apart. You would be no hinderance to her if she was not letting you be.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren clenched her jaw. Even when she won, Magister Rook always found fault. Edeena growled low in the back of her throat, before growling at the Magister. “Why is nothing she does ever good enough for you?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Magister Rook looked taken aback, but Edeena was not done. “Even when she does everything right, you criticize her, but Gellose never does anything but fawn over Morningstar, and you have not reprimanded her once.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Magister Rook looked angry. “Just because you do not see it, does not mean that I do not reprimand—” Edeena cut the Magister off. “Oh? So you reprimand literally EVERY other member of the unit in private? I’ve done plenty to warrant reprimand, but you have not once reprimanded me, in private or not. And I have never seen you reprimand anyone with an audience. Yet, you feel the need to constantly pick at Ren in front of everyone.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Magister Rook’s eyes flashed with something that looked a lot like guilt. But then the moment was gone. “How I discipline—” “Discipline? Is that what they called bullying in your day?” Edeena asked sarcastically. Ren, who was still pinning Edeena to the mat, unconsciously gripped her friend tighter.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Magister glared at Edeena, but just as he opened his mouth to say something, Edeena beat him to it. “I do not much care that you do not like Ren. You are entitled to you own opinion. But the least you could do is behave like an adult and stop picking on a CHILD.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren pursed her lips. Normally she would have protested when someone called her a child, but she did not feel like her speaking would help anything. If anything, it would make things worse for Edeena. Ren need not have worried. Edeena made it about as worse as it could get all by herself.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Armstrong.” Magister Rook said in a barely even voice. “Get back to your quarters and pack your bags. You are suspended until further notice. Khoros will be asked to send a shuttle for you.” The Magister then turned around and walked away.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren got up off of her friend and felt tears gathering in her eyes. Edeena had gotten suspended defending her. It was all her fault. If she wasn’t so— Her thoughts were interrupted by a pair of hands on her shoulders.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren craned her head up to look Edeena in her green eyes. She had certainly gotten taller since they had arrived all those months ago. “Stop blaming yourself. If not now, I would have been suspended later. I have always been bad at holding my temper.” Edeena smiled. “Comes with being a Tetramand.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren sniffed, and Edeena pulled her into a hug. When she pulled back, Ren wanted to go in for another hug and never let go. She didn’t want to lose her best friend.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Edeena swallowed thickly. “I’d better go pack. Khoros is not really very far from here, so the shuttle could be here anytime, it just depends on how mad father is how fast he will drive it.” Ren nodded slowly. “I guess this is goodbye then.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Edeena’s 4 eyes looked at the floor. “I guess so.” Edeena pulled Ren in for one last hug, then turned and left the training room without turning back.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>&amp;*</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It had been 2 months since Edeena’s suspension, but the Tetramand had still not been asked to come back. With no other friend at the Plumber Academy, thanks mainly to Magister Rook singling her out, Ren had thrown herself into her work.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Her already perfect grades raised even more, her already adequate combat skills got good enough that even Magister Hulka had been forced to pay her a few grudging compliments the day that he had substituted for Magister Rook. Her firearms skills soared even higher than they had been previously, and she now topped her unit. All in all, she was now the most praised cadet from her year. By everyone except for Magister Rook, that is.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Magister hadn’t laid off at all since Edeena had spat some unpleasant truths in his face. If anything, he’d gotten even worse, and Ren was still the only one he ever reprimanded in front of people. He seemed to think it was the best way to keep her extroverted personality in check. In other words, he was handling her how he would have handled her father.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Speaking of her father… Ren was due to graduate from the Plumber Academy in 2 months, and she was anxious about seeing him again. She was sure that after 8 months of her being gone that Ben had to have noticed by now that his youngest child and only daughter had run off. And Ben Tennyson was smart enough to have known exactly where she’d gone, even without her leaving a note telling him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But despite him knowing where she was, Ben had made no move to contact her. Cadets were allowed family calls once a week, and the only ones who had called for her were Kenny and Kevin. No one else had. It was procedure that for family calls, the Academy had to be contacted by the family, the cadet could not call the family. Ben would know that. But yet, he had not called for her even once. In 8 months.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That was enough to make the lonely teen feel obligated to spend her down time thinking about where she was to live now if not with her father. She would be 17 when she graduated, and underage Plumbers were not allowed to be stationed off-world, so she knew she’d be stationed on Earth, at least for a while. But where would she live?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Would she get a house in Bellwood? Would she use rooms on one of the HQ residential floors? Would she beg her godfather to let her sleep in his ‘everything proof’ car? The uncertainty scared Ren.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>&amp;*</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren Tennyson gulped as she made her way up to Magister Rook’s desk. It was finals day, and Ren was the first one to finish with the written exam. It had been easy for her, but she could tell that most of the remaining people in her unit were struggling.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Over the past 2 months, when the work started getting piled on, some of their unit had dropped out. Gellose, Kilja, Hy-7, Poorissss, Ophelia, and Kryte to be exact. But not Morningstar. No, Darren Morningstar was still hanging on by his fingertips, if for no other reason than to torment Ren.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As Ren laid her test booklet on the Magister’s desk, she met his eyes defiantly. She had heard him discussing with Magister Ylta a month ago. He had said that there was no way Ren Tennyson would make it to the end, but she had. And she had made it at the top of her year, nonetheless. The bitter Magister’s opinion did not bother her now. She had made it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Magister Rook did not avert his eyes from her challenging stare. Ren wrinkled up her forehead in confusion. If she did not know any better, she would say that there was pride swimming in her most-hated Magister’s amber eyes. But that was absurd. Magister Rook had not wanted her to succeed, so why would he be proud of her for doing so?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren turned away from the confusing alien and strode from the testing room. She wanted to get some time in the gym before her practical exam later.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>&amp;*</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren inclined her head respectfully when Magister Rook gave her a shiny red badge. Her badge. She was officially a Plumber now. She looked down the line she was standing in. Out of the 15 that had arrived on her shuttle, only 4 stood in the line with her. Edeena had never been asked back, 6 had dropped out, and 3 hadn’t passed their exams. Included in that 3, to Ren’s delight, was Morningstar.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Her year group had started out with 145 cadets split into 9 units. At the end of it all, only 50 stood on the stage. After all 36 of the cadets who would not be returning next year to train for Beta Squad had been given their badges, Magister Rook stood in line with the other 8 Magisters of their year group. All 9 Magisters saluted the 50 cadets, and once the cadets returned the salutes, they were all dismissed to go home.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>&amp;*</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren stood at the shuttle door in her shiny new uniform with her brand-new badge clipped to her belt. All of the other 4 left from her unit had already been dropped off on their homeworlds, and Ren was the last one. She was nervous. All of the others had stepped off to wild and loving welcoming comities, but Ren did not know what she would get.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Magister Rook walked out of the cockpit to see why she had not pressed the button to open the door yet, and she saw the moment his eyes registered her nerves. Something in those amber orbs seemed to soften, and he stepped up next to her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“They will be happy to welcome you home, do not worry.” The Magister tried to reassure her. Ren huffed. “I am worried. You don’t know them. They can be… mercurial.” Magister Rook chuckled. “I do know them, actually.” Ren’s head snapped around to look at the Magister with wide eyes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Magister Rook’s mouth ticked up at the corner. “I have known your father since he was your age, and I was still stationed on Earth until young Kenneth was 12.” Ren blinked. Kenny was 13 years older than her. Magister Rook had been stationed on Earth until the year before she was born.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren smiled uneasily at her most-hated Magister. “They should be happy to see you, then.” Magister Rook sighed. “We did not part on the… best terms. I would count my self lucky if Ben did not transform on sight and try to punch me.” There was something in the Magister’s voice that conveyed that he thought he deserved to be punched by Ren’s father.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren’s eyes widened. “Why would he do that?” Magister Rook looked at the green eyes that exactly matched her father’s, and he cleared his throat. “Your father asked me to do something, and I failed. But that is a story for another time. Press the button, young one. Your family is waiting for you.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren tentatively reached out and pressed her finger on the green button on the metal panel by the door. When the door opened, Ren was expecting to be overwhelmed with the sound of her large family, but the only ones who stood there were Kevin, Gwendolyn, Devlin, Heaven, and Kenny. No one else.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Magister Rook’s brow furrowed in confusion, and he placed a comforting hand on his pupil’s shoulder. Had the family changed so much in the last 17 years that they would not welcome one of their own back home after 10 months apart?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Where is Ben?” Rook asked Kevin. Kevin’s dark eyes narrowed when he recognized Rook’s voice. “Rook? Is that you?” the Osmosian asked in a voice that was almost a growl. Rook raised an eyebrow. “Who else would it be?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren stepped off the ship. “Magister Rook was my assigned Magister at the Plumber Academy.” Kevin looked shocked. “ROOK was the hard ass that you kept complaining about?” Rook looked distinctly uncomfortable. “My behavior was not wholly appropriate due to her resemblance to Ben.” Something in that sentence made it sound more like the Magister had rehearsed it, rather than something that the Magister actually thought.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kevin curled his hands into fists, seemingly not noticing the robotic way in which the Magister had spoken. Or maybe he just didn’t care. “So you took your malfunctions with Benji out on my goddaughter?” Rook swallowed. “I suppose so.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kenny looked confused. “That does not sound like you, Rook.” Magister Rook cleared his throat. “It has been nearly 2 decades, Kenneth. People change in 2 decades.” The Magister’s voice sounded a bit forced, like he was trying to make Kenny believe him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kenny frowned. “Not that much. Something else had to have caused you to act like that. And don’t even bother trying to convince me that it was actually because Ren looks like Dad.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kenny then turned to Ren. “Sasha wanted me to tell you that she’s sorry for not being here to welcome you back, but her and the boys weren’t able to get back from Disney Land in time.” Ren offered a small smile that fooled no one. It was too similar to Ben’s fake smile to fool any of them. “It’s fine.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Magister Rook nodded goodbye to the group, and went to go back into the shuttle, but a pink sheet of mana blocked his way. “Rook, please stay for dinner.” Kevin scoffed, and looked like he really wanted to protest. Ignoring the pouting Osmosian, Rook turned back to look at Gwendolyn. “I would love to, but I do not think that it is a good idea for me to stay on Earth too long. There is too great a chance of running into Ben.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Gwendolyn nodded sadly, well aware of the real reason that Rook was no longer stationed on Earth to begin with. “Well, maybe we could come visit Revonnah while the Plumbers Academy is closed for the summer.” Kevin made a noise in the back of his throat that showed his opinion about that idea, but he dared not voice it with his wife in arm’s reach.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Once again ignoring Kevin, Rook smiled. “I would like that. Just let me know when you are coming, and I will have the farm looking its best for your arrival.” Gwendolyn smiled. “It’s a date.” Rook waved at the group before re-entering the shuttle and taking off.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren turned back to her family. “So… where IS Dad?” she asked quietly. Kenny pulled Ren into a hug. “He wanted to be here, but there was a situation on Galvan Prime due to Vilgax trying to wage war in a nearby galaxy, and he couldn’t get away in time. He’ll be home tonight or tomorrow morning.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren frowned. “He didn’t call for me at all.” Kevin raised an eyebrow. “Really?” Ren nodded. “You, Kenny, and Devlin are the only ones who called for me. I mean… Aunt Gwendolyn might as well have, since she talked to me when you and Devlin called, and I know she couldn’t really call in herself, since the communications officers would have wet themselves if the High Magus had called… but Dad didn’t even have someone else call in and talk to me with them.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kenny sighed. “Yes, I know. Aunt Gwendolyn and I were trying to convince him to. He just… you left, and when he went to tell you dinner was ready, he found a note, and it was so much like when Mom left him… it hurt him.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren looked down, guiltily picking at her new gloves. “I figured it would. But he didn’t understand. I felt like it was something I had to do, but he just wanted to lock me in my room until the shuttle left. I couldn’t think of any other way.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kenny nodded. “I understand that, but it doesn’t change how it made Dad feel. To him, it didn’t feel like you were running away to the Plumbers Academy, it felt like you were running away from him.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Devlin placed a hand on Ren’s shoulder. “I would have done the same thing if Mom and Dad hadn’t let me go to the Plumbers Academy. They were worried, but they were supportive. Uncle Ben was just being overprotective, in my opinion.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Heaven nodded from where she stood between her parents. “Agreed. But how do you tell the Hero of the Universe that he needs to cool it?” Kevin raised an eyebrow at his 19-year-old daughter. “You don’t. He wouldn’t listen anyway. You’d just be wasting your breath.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren didn’t comment on that. “So… do you guys know if I… will I still be living with Dad?” Everyone looked uncomfortable at this. Gwendolyn cleared her throat. “Well, Renny, ummm, legally once you graduate the Plumbers Academy, you’re emancipated, and—” “He doesn’t want me anymore.” Ren finished for Gwendolyn with tears in her eyes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Gwendolyn swallowed thickly. She couldn’t tell Ren the real reason. Ben would never forgive that. Then again… in a month it wouldn’t matter whether he forgave her or not. Gwendolyn internally sighed, then said, “He moved all of your things into Kenny’s house the day after you left.” ‘<em>Because he didn’t want you to be uprooted in a month.’ </em>She added mentally.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren nodded slowly and hefted her duffle bag on her shoulder. She hadn’t exactly been expecting Ben to kick her out, but she had mentally prepared for the possibility.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“OK, well, I’m tired, and I… yeah.” Ren finished lamely, then walked away from the tiny group.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>&amp;*</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren sat nervously in the troop transport next to 11 other Plumbers. Her father, Maltruant, Exo-skull, and Subdora were smashing up downtown Bellwood, so the 12 Plumbers had been sent in as back-up. Ren nervously fiddled with her blaster. This was going to be her first field deployment, and she was anxious about how… big… it was.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Uncle Kevin reached over and placed a hand on her blaster to keep her from continuing to fiddle with it. “You’ll do fine.” He assured her. Everyone else on the transport were seasoned or at least experienced Plumbers, Kevin being the oldest, at age 63. Ren was the only new recruit on their transport.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Of course she’ll do fine.” The tall Kineceleran next to Ren said in her slightly croaky voice. “She’s a Tennyson.” Ren sank lower in her seat. That was part of the problem right there. Every other Plumber thought that she would either be perfect or dreadful because of who her father was. It was a lot of pressure to put on a 17-year-old.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kevin shot the Kineceleran a look. “Not helping, Helen.” Magister Wheels shrugged and went back to talking to a bearded Tetramand on her data pad. Ren glanced briefly at the data pad, then did a double take when she recognized the Tetramand as Edeena’s Dad. Edeena had pridefully displayed a hologram of him on the wall next to their bunkbed at the Plumber Academy. There was no way Ren could mistake the face that she’d seen on the wall everyday for 6 months.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Magister Armstrong?” Ren asked tentatively. Magister Wheels and the Tetramand both looked at Ren with raised eyebrows. Ren swallowed. “How is Edeena?” The Tetramand blinked, then smiled. “You’re Ren, aren’t you?” Ren nodded slowly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Magister Armstrong chuckled. “I think you’ll be happy to know that Edeena was asked back to the Academy for next year. She’ll get another chance.” Ren smiled. “That’s great.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren’s smile disappeared when the transport stopped. Kevin stood up. “Sorry Manny, but we just arrived. I’ll call you back later.” Magister Wheels told Magister Armstrong. The Tetramand smiled and waved his metal hand, and then the transmission ended. Helen shrunk the data pad down to the size of a postage stamp, and then tucked it into a tiny pouch on her belt.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kevin walked to the door, then turned around to face the other 11 Plumbers. Ren thought he was about to deliver some rousing speech and was relieved. She could use a rousing speech right now.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kevin held his hand out to Magister Wheels, who produced a jagged shard of Taydenite from a pouch on her belt and handed it to him. Kevin absorbed the Taydenite, then handed back the shard.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>With his Taydenite armor in place, Kevin morphed one hand into a blade, and hovered the other over a green button on the control panel by the door. “Let’s go get ‘em!” The Osmosian yelled, then slammed his Taydenite covered hand down on the button.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>&amp;*</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren dove out of the way of one of Exo-skull’s energy blasts and landed hard on the concrete. Ren felt a chunk of rock from the wall above her smack against her helmet with a resounding ‘clang’, then rolled out of the way of the rest of the collapsing wall.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren sprung back to her feet and looked at the chaos around her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> There were Plumbers, civilians, and a white-clad Merlinisapien lying unmoving on the debris covered ground around her, yet the fighting had not stopped. Ren pulled her side arms out of their holsters, and then ran into the cloud of dust and smoke that was clogging the once-peaceful Bellwood street.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was Hell. People and aliens were screaming, but Ren couldn’t see them. She could hear Exo-skull’s wild energy blasts, but she saw nothing more than faint orange glows rushing past through the smog.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> Maltruant’s echoing laughter was sounding from somewhere and everywhere all at once, pressing in on Ren’s eardrums, making it impossible for her to tell which direction the rogue Chronosapien was actually in. Buildings crumbled and fell, but Ren couldn’t tell from where. For all she knew, the building she heard could be falling on her, and she would never see it coming.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Magisters yelled out orders, but Ren couldn’t make out what they were saying. A streetlamp was struck with a ray from a blaster, and nearly fell on her. Ren jumped back, barely holding in her scream.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren’s sidearms shook in her hands. Why had she ever wanted to do this so badly? Why hadn’t she listened to her father and not gone to the Plumer Academy? She’d felt like going was something she had to do, but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember why she had felt that way.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren nearly tripped over the body of a fallen Plumber. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw a Kineceleran tail crookedly laying on the asphalt behind the Plumber. There was only one Kineceleran stationed at the Bellwood Headquarters. Unless reinforcements had been called from one of the other 3 Earth bases, this was the Kineceleran that had sat next to her on the transport. This was Magister Wheels.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren placed the back of her gloved hand firmly against her mouth, and stepped around the body, careful not to step on the clearly broken tail. Ren continued to move slowly through the thick smoke and dust mixture, hoping to find the other side and get to fresh air again.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Something skittered across the ground in front of her, and it was all she could do not to shoot at it. Shooting at a sewer rat would do nothing but give away her position. Ren tried to take a calming deep breath, but all she managed to do was choke on the dust-riddled air that surrounded her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She was so busy coughing that she did not see the prone form laying across her path until she tripped over it. Ren finished coughing, then slowly turned to see what she had just tripped over. Her blood ran cold when her eyes caught on a familiar watch on one of the dust-covered arms. “DAD!” Ren screamed, scrambling over to the unmoving body of Ben Tennyson.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren turned Ben toward her and let go hurriedly when she saw that his rib cage was cracked open like an egg. Ren already knew he was dead long before she saw the green eyes still widened with pain and fear staring unseeing at the smog above Ren’s head.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren stared at her father, completely numb. She hadn’t gotten a chance to speak to him since their fight before she snuck away to the Plumber shuttle. For the entire month since she’d graduated, he’d been busy handling an off-world war that Vilgax had started in the Knoroxan Galaxy, not far from Galvan Prime.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> He’d only just gotten home this morning. She was going to go visit him on her lunch break but had gotten deployed to this fight an hour before her break. Now, she’d never get the chance to apologize to him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren sobbed and screamed as she stared at her father’s body, not even noticing that she had attracted the attention of the enemy. It wasn’t until she heard the too-close laughter of the rogue Chronosapien that she looked up and saw the glowing red eyes of Maltruant looming through the smoke.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Omnitrix on her father’s arm made a whistle-like sound, then it catapulted from his arm to Ren’s. Ren tried to shake the watch off of her, but it was stuck to her wrist. On its own, the fluorescent green dial popped up and began turning through holograms of more than 10,000 aliens, as if inviting her to pick one.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Before Ren even got the chance to reach towards the watch, a glowing grey beam from the Chronosapien surrounded her. Ren’s long brown hair whipped around her face, as she felt herself being pulled away from the body of her father. Away from the Hell of the smoke and dust clogged street. Away from the screams and pleas of the unseen injured. Away from the explosions of a lost battle. Away from the world where Ren was now an orphan.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren closed her eyes, and leaned into the feeling, welcoming whatever relief the rogue Chronosapien was unknowingly giving her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>&amp;*</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ben Tennyson and Rook Blonko were walking casually through Plumbers HQ sipping smoothies when alarms started ringing and red lights started flashing. The 2 exchanged looks that were a mix between alarmed and excited before they took off running towards the command center, their forgotten smoothies seeping across the floor of the hallway.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What do you think it is?” Rook asked as they ran side by side. Ben smirked at his partner. “I don’t know. Vilgax maybe? Oooo. Or maybe it’s the Incurseans!” Rook raised an eyebrow at Ben. “I am pretty sure that you are not supposed to be excited by either one of those prospects.” Ben shrugged. “It’s been a quiet week.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When the 2 arrived in the command center, there was a crowd assembled around a kneeling figure. Ben and Rook shoved their way to the front of the crowd and were faced with a person wearing a dust-covered uniform that almost resembled Plumber armor.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The figure looked up at them, making the tear tracks in the dust visible. Then, she saw Ben and Rook, and her bright green eyes widened.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>&amp;*</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren couldn’t believe what she was seeing. The 2 men in front of her… they couldn’t be—could they? She had been struck by a beam from Maltruant, so she supposed they could be, but… they couldn’t be.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They couldn’t be her father and Magister Rook. They looked too young and too happy to be her father and Magister Rook. The last time she had seen them, her father was 62 and Magister Rook was 67. There was no way these young men could be them. Unless… unless Maltruant had sent her back in time like 40 years.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Who are you?” A man with white hair and a red floral shirt asked in a commanding voice. Ren’s head snapped up and looked at the man. “Great Grandpa Max?” She croaked. A combination of breathing in the dust and smoke from the battle and her crying after she’d found—<em>the image of her father’s body swam in front of her eyes</em>— after she’d found <em>him, </em>had really done a number on her voice.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Max’s eyes widened. “’Great Grandpa Max’? Don’t tell me this is another time travel thing…” Ren looked down at her hands and nodded slowly. Max sighed. “Ok. Well. What’s your name?” Ren gulped. “Renae Gwendolyn Tennyson. But… most people just call me Ren.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A young red-headed woman blinked from next to Great Grandpa Max. “Your middle name is Gwendolyn?” Ren studied the woman for a moment before her eyes widened. “Auntie Gwendolyn?” Gwendolyn shifted uncomfortably. “I suppose…”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The dark-haired man next to Gwendolyn snorted in amusement. There was no need for Ren to ask who he was. He looked far too much like Devlin to be anyone but Uncle Kevin.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Max looked calculating. “You called Gwendolyn ‘Auntie’ so that means that you’re either Ken’s kid or Ben’s.” Ren replied quietly. “Uncle Ken and his husband only have sons.” Ben leaned heavily on Rook. “So, that means you’re…” He trailed off and pointed at himself.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren didn’t look at him as she nodded. Max nodded, as if confirming to himself something he already suspected. “How old are you?” Ben blurted out. Ren still avoided looking at him as she answered quietly. “17.” “Who is your Mom?” Ben blurted again. Ren shifted uncomfortably. “My Mom was Kai Tennyson nee Green.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Was?” Ben asked, making half of the people in the crowd wince at the lack of tact. Ren nodded. “She ran off and left the 4 of us when I was 6.” “The 4 of us?” Ben asked, again making some people wince. Ren nodded. “Yes. You, me, and my 2 older brothers.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You have 2 older brothers?” Ben asked eagerly. Ren nodded, still not looking at Ben. “Yes. Kenny just turned 30, and Lenny is 24.” Kevin whistled. “Benji has a kid that just turned 30? Jeez.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>If the image of her father’s body wasn’t still fresh in her mind, Ren might have smirked. “Yeah, well, your and Auntie Gwendolyn’s oldest is 31.” Gwendolyn squealed excitedly. “We have kids!?” Ren nodded, looking at the floor. “You have 2. A boy and a girl. Devlin is 31 and Heaven is 19.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kevin crossed his arms, trying not to look as eager as his wife. “Do they have powers?” Ren nodded. She seemed to be doing a lot of that. “Devlin is Osmosian, he has the Kevin 11 mutation, and he has magic, and Heaven doesn’t really have anything other than some weak Anodite Abilities, but she could do magic if she actually wanted to.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Rook had is head cocked to the side. “How come you will not look at Ben?” Ren tensed, but said nothing. Max narrowed his eyes. He had noticed that too, but right now, there were more pressing matters. “How did you get here?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren clenched her hands into fists. “Dad was fighting Maltruant and his entourage in downtown. Magister Daniels, the new Magistratus of Earth sector, he didn’t think that 3 on 1 was very good odds, so he sent in a team of 25 Plumbers. They got clobbered, so he sent another team of 25. They didn’t fair so well either, so he picked 12 Plumbers out of the remaining 36 at Bellwood HQ, and he sent us in as a last resort.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Max eyed the Plumber-like armor Ren wore, and surmised that it must be an updated uniform code. Ren closed her eyes, and then continued. “We were told that the situation was bad, but we didn’t know just how bad it was until Uncle Kevin led the charge out of our transport and we stepped straight into Hell.” Kevin shifted slightly at the ‘Uncle Kevin’ bit, but he didn’t interrupt.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“There was debris everywhere. Fallen buildings, overturned cars, blown up Plumber tanks, and… and bodies littered the street. There were Plumbers from both forward teams running around without direction, being picked off by Exo-skull’s energy blasts and Subdora’s blasters.” Several in the crowd shivered.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“There were fires all over the place choking the street with smoke, and there was thick dust covering everything and floating in the air. It was like stepping into a nightmare.” Ren took a shaky breath.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“But in the middle of all of it stood Dad. He stood on a pile of warped cars in the form of Diamondhead, shouting orders and encouragement to the scattered Plumbers. He was like a beacon for the Plumbers, showing them that they could still win.” A tear slipped down Ren’s dust-caked face.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We jumped in, not even hesitating when Dad told us where we were needed. Uncle Kevin stayed close to me, using his Taydenite armor to deflect anything that I didn’t see coming. It was my first field deployment, so he didn’t want to leave me by myself.” Kevin swallowed. He could definitely see himself doing something like that.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We worked out a rhythm. He would act as a barrier while I shot at the enemy, and then as a shield when they shot back. Taydenite doesn’t age, so he was safe even from Maltruant’s aging rays when he sent them. But then the street blew out from under us, and we got separated.” Ren swallowed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I don’t know if it was one of there’s or one of ours, but when I got up, there were bodies everywhere, Subdora among them. I couldn’t see any sign of Uncle Kevin, so either he had dropped his armor, or he had been thrown out of sight. I didn’t have time to do anything more than glance around before I had to dodge a beam from Exo-skull. I couldn’t see him, since the beam came out of a thick smoke cloud that now covered the street, but I knew it was one of his.” All eyes in the room stayed fixed on Ren.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I had to dodge a falling wall, then I ran into the cloud, where I knew the rest of my team was.” Ren’s voice grew shaky. “I couldn’t see a thing in there. I heard screams, explosions, and Maltruant’s laughter, but I couldn’t see more than a foot or 2 in any direction. Then I—” Ren choked off into a sob, before she found her voice again. “Then I found Dad, and he was—” Ren broke off into another sob, and Gwendolyn started to move towards her, but she regained her voice before Gwendolyn had gotten more than 3 steps.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> “And Maltruant found us, and the Omnitrix stuck itself to my wrist,” Ren made a weak gesture with her left arm, showing the dust-covered watch that now clung to it. “and I couldn’t get it off, and then Maltruant sent a time-ray at me, and… I showed up here.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Max swallowed. Now it was understandable that she wouldn’t want to look at Ben. “What happened to Ben?” Rook asked in a slightly frantic tone, causing Ben and Gwendolyn to both shoot him a look for asking that. Ren hiccupped slightly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I-I don’t know. Maybe he got caught in the explosion, maybe he was gone before that, or maybe they got him in the aftermath of it. I don’t know what happened.” Ren whispered the last sentence. Then she started loudly sobbing. “He shouldn’t have even been there! He was getting too old to transform and throw himself into a battle! He was 62 for crying out loud! He should have let someone else handle it!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ben shoved past Rook and walked cautiously over to where Ren was still kneeling. Ben crouched down next to her, and let his green eyes wander over her Plumber uniform. A surge of pride coursed through him, seeing that his child had become a Plumber.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But if her kneeling down sobbing in the middle of virtual strangers was the result… then he vowed that he wouldn’t let her become a Plumber at all. He would stop her from becoming a Plumber to spare her this.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ben slowly pulled the girl into a hug, and gently rocked her back and forth while making shushing noises. His death had caused this. She was acting like this because she had found his body. If he stopped her from becoming a Plumber at all, then she wouldn’t have to find him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Suddenly, a flash of green light shown from a corner of the command center. The crowd parted as Spanner walked through to stand next to the kneeling pair. This was the tallest any of them had ever seen Spanner. It was obviously a version that was older than the one that had assisted Ben in the time war last year.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Spanner cleared his throat and kneeled down next to the pair. He placed a gloved hand on Ben’s scrawny shoulder and squeezed gently. “I’ve got her from here.” Ben swallowed. “You’ll take her home?” He asked quietly as he continued to rock the girl.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Spanner nodded. “I’ll take her home, Ben.” He said in a pained voice. Ben looked down at Ren and tucked a lock of long dust-covered hair behind her ear. “Take care of her?” He said softly as he gently handed Ren to Spanner.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren fought Spanner’s hold and tried to go back to Ben, but Spanner held her tightly against him. “You don’t even have to ask.” Ben nodded, and stood up before backing away, a plan for how to prevent this already forming in his mind. Spanner nodded respectfully at Ben, then he and Ren disappeared.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>&amp;*</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>27 years later, a 45-year-old Ben Tennyson stood facing a 50 -year-old Rook Blonko. “Kai’s pregnant again.” Ben said in a firm voice. Rook’s eyes widened. “It must be her.” He said in a sad voice.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ben nodded. “You know what this means.” Rook nodded in confirmation, not even having to voice his thoughts on the matter. Ben ran a hand through his hair. “I hate this, but it’s the only way to spare her from it, you know that.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Rook looked at the ground. “I know. But what if it does not work? What if she goes anyway?” Ben sighed. “That’s why we have to start Phase 2 before we do Phase 1. We’ll stage a huge fight, you’ll request to transfer, and I’ll do a little persuasion with the office personnel to get you transferred to the Plumber Academy. If she gets past me, it’ll be your job to make sure she drops out.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Rook nodded. “And if she does not get passed you?” Ben shrugged. “Then crisis averted, you and I can ‘reconcile’, and we can get you transferred back.” Rook screwed up his face in thought. “But what if she gets past you, and she does not drop out?” Ben shook his head. “She will. She has to. I can’t make her go through it, Rook. I can’t.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Rook placed a hand on Ben’s broad shoulder. “Then we will just have to succeed.” Ben nodded. “If she gets past me, I’ll even help you out by not calling for her. That ought to make her homesick, and on top of your borderline harassment, that should be enough to make her drop out.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Rook swallowed. “But if you do that, then she may not get a chance to speak with you again before…” Rook trailed off. He didn’t need to say it for Ben to know what he was referencing. Ben ran a hand through his already mussed up hair. “I know. I know. But this is more important than that. I don’t want her to find me."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Rook gulped. “Could we not just let her be a Plumber and prevent your death from happening at all?” Ben shook his head. “No. We’ve talked about this, we just don’t know enough about what actually happened to stop it. For all we know, whatever we do to stop it would just enable it to happen in the first place. This is the only way to spare her.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Rook closed his eyes. “I can handle our fake distancing, but I do not want to lose you for real.” Ben ran a hand over the fur on Rook’s face. “Yeah, I know. I don’t want to lose you either. But this is the only plan we’ve got.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Rook opened his eyes and the amber orbs met green. “Shall we get started?” Ben bit his bottom lip and looked away. “I don’t want to, but yes.” Rook nodded, then said in a near whisper. “Try not to hit me too hard.” Ben looked sadly at Rook. “I wish there was another way.” Rook returned the look. “So do I.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Rook then leaned in and kissed Ben. When Ben began to struggle, Rook gripped him harder. Ben slapped Rook across the face where his hand had been petting mere moments before. Rook pulled back in shock to see the angry look on Ben’s face contrasted by the sad look in his eyes. “I can’t believe you would do that! How could you!?” Ben yelled louder than strictly necessary.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Rook tilted his head in faked confusion, before saying, “I know you wanted it, so why did you fight?” Ben shoved Rook backwards, the sad look in his eyes only growing sadder with each passing moment. “I can’t believe you! I trusted you! How can I ever trust you again!?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Rook took a step towards Ben. “Ben—” But Ben shoved him again. “I can’t trust you! If I can’t trust you, then how can I fight with you again!? We can’t be partners anymore.” Even though it was rehearsed, the words still stung. For both of them.</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hope you liked it! :)</p>
<p>I am very proud of that ending. It wasn't something that was originally planned, it was just an idea I got while writing, and I went with it since it would help explain Ben and Rook's behavior towards Ren joining the Plumbers. </p>
<p>Let me know what you think! :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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